The present application relates to drill rigs, and in particular to a bit changing mechanism for use with a blasthole drill rig.
Blasthole drill rigs are commonly used in the mining industry to drill through hard rock. Blasthole drill rigs can be found, for example, in coal, copper, and diamond mines throughout the world. A blasthole drill rig typically includes a base, a drill tower extending vertically from the base, and a drill pipe or pipes that are coupled to and supported by the drill tower, and extend into a borehole. The blasthole drill rig further includes a drill bit coupled to the drill pipe for engaging the mined material. Occasionally, an operator is required to remove the drill bit from the drill pipe and replace the drill bit with another drill bit. However, the drill bit and other components of the drill rig are heavy, and therefore dangerous for an operator to handle. As such, there is a desire to autonomously handle and replace the drill bits and other heavy drill rig components.